Sports Cars

I’ve heard or the 1980s movie Brewster’s Millions, but it was only recently that I’ve watched it. Boy, was I glad I did! Aside from the fact that it was one of the cleverest movies I’ve seen in recent memory, it had the following camera shot:

I just had to pause and laugh. It’s a metaphor to the main protagonist’s political campaign strategy –that ALL of them, himself included, were bad choices- which was genius. The lack of the printscreen’s definition makes the license plates, with all of the candidates’ last names, unreadable. Still funny, though.

That shot was reason enough to hunt the clip down. I’m pretty sure that there are some people out there who wouldn’t consider ANY of the following vehicles on the billboard, or those parked behind it. Regardless if you’re one of them, can you tell said vehicles?

There’s no shortage of videos showing that particular chase scene. I could’ve taken any of those over the synth-laden one, but chose not to because a) to avoid spoilers if you haven’t watched it, b) avoid any trouble with the violence scenes that come afterwards and c) this is the video that motivated me to watch The Driver, which is one very cool movie, alright.

In case you were wondering, the song is called Highway Knight, from the artist Kick Puncher. The song and artist are just one of the many contemporary examples that follow the retro sounds of 1980’s synth music.

So as the C-10 chases down the Firebird, what else are they avoiding to hit as they barrel down the streets of late-1970’s L.A.?

We may, not, get a bite all day, but don't you rush away. What a great, place, to rest your bones, and mighty fine for skippin' stones, You'll feel fresh, as, a lemonade, a-settin' in the shade.

Whether it's hot... whether it's cool... oh what a spot... for whistlin' like a fool.

What a fine, day, to take a stroll, and wander by The Fishin' Hole, I can't think, of, a better way, to pass the time o' day. ♫

The name of that song is "The Fishin' Hole," and those were the words to the whistling theme you heard every time you saw Sheriff Andy Taylor and his son Opie walking toward Myers Lake in Mayberry. Of course Myers Lake didn't exist, so maybe surprisingly, the title openings of the show were shot here.

Just like the music in "The Andy Griffith Show," cars also played an important part. In fact, several of their best episodes were written around them and the people who were driving them. So let's take a gander at a few of these machines... some of them might even surprise you a bit!

When did I first learned about the Lamborghini Jalpa? Was it when I saw a pic of it was while perusing through IMDCb.com’s Miami Vice page a couple of years ago? Could have been Rocky IV. I truly believe it was in an indoor auto expo. I have photographic evidence and everything on that one. When browsing Jalopnik, there was this review on the Jalpa. It’s where I got the inspiration and pic to to a Carspotters’ Challenge. It could’ve been that we had few views on the post (nothing wrong with that, it did OK, IMO), but no one blurted out what the black wedge actually was: a Lamborghini Jalpa.

Submitted for your contemplation: Girls + Cars. Cars + Girls. I'm fairly certain that the average Roman curri dealer occasionally had a couple of calida mulierculae Romana* posing next to the new (AD) 14 models. And you can bet that the first thing some guy will do when he invents an anti-gravity landspeeder is dress up a future honey or two in quasi-futuristic bikinis (or perhaps grab a couple of Fembots) and sit them on the hood. It's what we do. Hence, compare and contrast:

That, according to Vintage Everyday, is a Peerless Touring Car, taken in 1923 in San Francisco.

Though nobody expected it to be that way at the start, 1989 was a momentous year, one in which much of what seemed a permanent part of the world was left behind by December 31.

It was certainly that way in Eastern Europe. The "Iron Curtain" looked like it would be there forever on January 1, but that would soon change. In February, the Polish Communist government and representatives of the Solidarity independent trade union entered into the "Round Table Agreement" for the liberalization of the political system; the country held free elections that summer and the new government abolished state socialism and withdrew from the Soviet-dominated "Warsaw Pact" by year's end. In East Germany, a series of mass demonstrations inspired by Solidarity's success led to the fall of the Berlin Wall in November.

On a much smaller scale of importance, 1989 was a year of great changes for me personally: I graduated from law school, moved, passed the bar, got married, and embarked on my present career. With my law school class holding its 25-year reunion in August (photo at right), and me being all nostalgic and such because of that, it seemed an appropriate occasion to look back on the automotive world of 1989.

There is an elegant structure in upscale Greenwich, Connecticut. It's something of a stately 2-story Tudor with large picture windows, and graces Putnam Avenue with style. At first glance, the building could house antiques and/or art... and yes... in many, many ways, it does house fine art.

The establishment features Ferrari, Maserati, and the occasional "previously owned" Rolls-Royce Motorcar and such. Why, I even thought I saw a more-pedestrian BMW on the premises. They also feature new and, ahem, used Aston Martin, Bentley, Bugatti, McLaren, Pagani, and Rolls-Royce. In fact, they are the only factory authorized dealership for all these unique brands in the state of Connecticut.